Gushing About My Recent Experience on the Nurturing Parent Podcast

Lisa Sigurgeirson Maxx and I have been following each other on social media for years. So when she asked me to be on her podcast, of course I answered that I would! 

First, I needed to research her podcast. I found that it’s full of advice given in a very gentle way; it readily acknowledges the messiness of child rearing and mistakes, but you won’t find any admonishment for that. I was already “sold” on Lisa, but didn’t previously know her co-host, Sareena. Newer-to-motherhood Sareena is at once calm and curious, excited and soothing. What an enviable combination of traits! 

I invite you to have a listen:

“Experience Awe with Heather Taylor; The Benefits of Increased Time in Nature”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3eirJdoVZzWYFyT7r3I7L4?go=1&sp_cid=2e6bd15a41f2edf933093423437a07cf&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1

Like, Subscribe, and Do All the Things! In fact, if you follow all their instructions after you’ve listened, you can even get a free gift from the Nurturing Parent Podcast that will bring this podcast to life in your very own home! These ladies really have thought of everything, and even I feel more nurtured having had this experience. 💞💞💞

Find out more about them all in these various places:

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thenurturingparent

Instagram: @the_nurturing_parent

Facebook: @TheNurturingParent

---

Enrollment

Now enrolling for the Outside School school year program!

Apply by August 15!

For more information, please go to www.outside.school:

---

Nature News

I love getting organic feedback about my teaching (like the podcast noted above), and one of my regular students reminds me of my excitement when we see various creatures. They shout out various organisms when we seem them, like, “Turkey Vultures! Dragonfly! Coyote! Cows! Hawk!” Such as it is with a perennial group favorite, “Dark Eyed Juncos!!!” Check some out:

Back when I was working for the Bio 1A labs at Cal, people would bring “downed” birds to me. A coworker who raised birds for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum showed me how to tell if they’re fledglings, just having been kicked out of their nests. You can turn them over. Upon spreading a wing, you can see that the wing tips have feathers, but the feathers nearer the body remain furled. Similarly, its tail feathers will be unfurled at the tips but furled at their bases. Aside from still developing their muscles, this is why fledglings can’t fly well at all. Once you put a fledgling back on the ground where you found it, the parents will resume their next task of teaching their young how and where to find food. And so it was on May 24, 2023 during lunch. I heard some unusual bird sounds, then observed a couple brown birds hopping after an adult male Dark Eyed Junco. I was certain these were fledglings based upon their unusual calls and behavior, then another male came around and we actually got to see them pick up seeds and then put it them the the babies' mouths! I was able to catch this in a video, along with a baby jumping up to grab seeds off a stalk of grass, and it appears from the feeding that this group is living communally, with two adult males feeding two or three young ones. I'd never known about this before!

Would you like to walk with us?

---

Inspiration and Resources

”Symbiotic Schoolyard”

Janneke Petersen recently contacted me. She’s made a fantastic, well-priced, effective science/ecosystem curriculum called Symbiotic Schoolyard. It looks fantastic for those of you who are teaching at traditional schools.

“Fire Season Safety”

I’ve been seeing a lot of folks in the North and East seeking resources on what their programs should do during fire season. Here’s a resource I put together based on the experiences we’ve had over the last several years in California:

“Pogo Park”

As it so happens I just ran into Toody, getting lunch at the same place today as I was with my husband. She was telling me that she’s still doing Pogo Park, which is a totally amazing park right in Richmond. She said that today they were having horses and ponies and that there would be a carnival and popcorn next Friday afternoon. I told her I’d have to let everyone know about it! Here’s the calendar:

Take care,

Heather

Heather Taylor, EMT

Founder/Director/Teacher, Outside School (www.outside.school)

Founder, Teach Outside (www.teachoutside.org)

California Master Teacher

Connect

Feel free to forward to anyone you like!